9 Years Later, the Jason Bourne Franchise Just Got a Major Update

Universal will “expand the Bourne franchise” across platforms.

August 13, 2025, 1:59pm

Jason Bourne is back at Universal. In March, the film rights to author Robert Ludlum’s spy franchise — which Universal turned into a billion dollar film series starring Matt Damon with directors Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass, and a Jeremy Renner-fronted spinoff helmed by Tony Gilroy — were shopped to rival studios Netflix, Apple, and Skydance. It was announced today that NBCUniversal won a bidding war granting the company all rights, except for publishing, to Ludlum’s Jason Bourne and Treadstone book series in perpetuity.

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According to Variety, which first reported the news, the Bourne rights sparked a “highly competitive bidding situation that drew seven offers from both streamers and studios before a massive nine-figure proposal was brought back to Universal.” The studio has released five Bourne films between 2002 and 2016, and the NBCUniversal-owned USA Network aired the television spinoff series Treadstone in 2019.

“Since its debut in 2002, the iconic Bourne franchise has reshaped the spy genre with groundbreaking films that set new standards for cinematic action,” Universal Pictures president Peter Cramer said in a statement. “We’re energized to continue expanding the Bourne universe into the future with exciting new stories for global audiences.”

Added Jeffrey Weiner, chairman & CEO of Captivate Entertainment and the executor of Ludlum’s estate, “We are thrilled that the Bourne franchise will remain at Universal. We look forward to working with the Universal team to expand the Bourne franchise across Universal’s varied platforms.”

Per the agreement, franchise producer Frank Marshall of Kennedy/Marshall will continue to steer the Bourne franchise with Jeffrey Weiner and Ben Smith of Captivate, which has managed the rights for Ludlum’s estate since 2001.

The renewed licensing deal makes it possible for Universal to release a fifth Bourne film starring Damon, who starred as the CIA’s amnesiac and most lethal operative in 2002’s The Bourne Identity, 2004’s The Bourne Supremacy, 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum, and 2016’s Jason Bourne. Renner took over as Operation Outcome agent Aaron Cross in the 2012 film The Bourne Legacy, the only installment not to feature Damon.

Back in 2023, it was reported that a sixth Bourne movie was in the works at Universal with All Quiet on the Western Front filmmaker Edward Berger, albeit without Damon attached: the project was in early development, and Damon would only be approached once a script was ready. It’s unclear whether Universal is proceeding with that version.

Damon previously suggested he wouldn’t do another Bourne without Greengrass, his director on Supremacy, Ultimatum, and Jason Bourne, which also came nine years after Damon’s trilogy capper. “My guess is it will be a while before we’ll even get around to doing another one,” Damon, now 54, told The Guardian while promoting Jason Bourne in 2016. “They might reboot me before I bow out.”